[PG-13] Expendable: Gamma Moon

[Crainium]

A newcomer joined them, sizing up the group as he sauntered across the room. Croak decided he didn’t like him. During his training in the facility, he had come across cadets and officers who exuded his kind of confidence. They knew what they were doing, what needed to be done and when, and took charge at a moment’s notice. Croak had none of these things. It was incredibly difficult to lead others when they gagged in your presence.

The group grew by one more; a tall robot with a sarcastic smiley face painted across his chest. The machine made machine noises and clunked into the room, eventually approaching Croak. Croak’s eyes appeared still, as they were solid bubbles of onyx, but his vision snapped around the room. He identified three different weapons for use against the machine should he prove unfriendly. Four, if he counted beating the machine with the tattooed woman.

"Excuse me, frog-man." The machine addressed Croak in a hollow British voice. Croak looked up at the metal face, his eyelids snapping shut and then opening again. "You are quite fascinating. It would... please me... to study you further."

*Gurrrp* “Toad.” Croak corrected, his voice a deep baritone that gurgled from his throat. His tongue snapped out and slid down the side of his face, clearing a speck of dust. He smacked his lips when his tongue had receded into his mouth. “I am a toad-man. My name is Croak. You can ask me anything you want.”

Any questions would have to wait, however, as the robot “host” rang the dinner bell. Concealed panels opened and food was revealed. Croak started padding over, his attention focused on the specialized cuisine on the end of the display. He turned to look at the robot. “You can ask your questions while I eat. I am starving.”

Croak approached the complete meals and tilted his head to angle his eye on the thumbprint reader. He recognized the device from when he first volunteered for the mission, under the suggestion of his public defender. The young guy spent most of their meetings with a handkerchief pressed over his mouth and nose and Croak was sure the kid just wanted to get rid of him. Croak reached out a three-fingered hand and pressed his equivalent to a human thumb to the device. The scanner read his identity and a plastic box was dispensed, the contents a wide variety of large insects and a few larvae.

With his Ditty box under his arm and the food box in hand, Croak moved the very end of the table farthest away from the food to eat.

[AngelDellaNotte]

She looked up as Sonia called her Lady Blue with a smirk on her face, that was a nickname she hadn't heard before. Most people thought she dyed her hair, but if that were the case it would have been long grown out by now. When she was still in college Ivy had gone to a gene-mod shop and had the techs alter a couple lines of her DNA changing the color. When the science first came out it was seen as mad science limited only to crazy scientists but over the years it had become as common as the tattoos on Miss Big Bad and Tough. “Oh this? Didn't think you would mind.” Ivy said, taking another hit off the cigarette before holding it out for Kimberly doubting she would take it. “Momma always said sharing was caring.”

Sonia exhaled what almost sounded like a quiet sigh. Then her arm snatched out, viper quick, to twist her fingers in Ivy's hair and send her face smashing into the table edge with an audible crack. To the surprise of everyone, as she bounced back up, Ivy twisted free and rolled away before the taller woman could follow, nearly knocking Kimberly off her chair in the process.

Ivy hit the ground with a roll that stopped a good five feet from Sonia and sat up looking around quite dazed. Blood dripped down her face from her nose, she didn't think it was broken but it did hurt pretty bad. “That wasn't very nice.” Ivy said, bringing one hand to her nose and pinching the brow. “Just for that I am keeping this.” She held up the cigarette, not entirely sure how she managed to hang onto it. One of the service bots rolled over to her and a compartment opened up revealing a small medical kit. Ivy took a couple of cotton wads out and pushed them into her nose to stop the bleeding then took a puff of the cigarette before standing up and walking over to the food.

[Azazeal849]

Sonia was about to start after Ivy as she ducked away, but they were interrupted by the Corporate Expert System thumping into the room. It turned, considering the table the three women were sat at, then started walking over.

"Just to be clear," The Rand module said, "Currently we are orbiting Lyca IV's third moon, Gamma, in a prison barge..."

Sonia hesitated, and slowly folded her arms. Letting the Jupiter murderer know that she couldn't walk all over her was one thing, but it wasn't worth continuing a fight over a cigarette right under the camera lenses of the CES.

“That wasn't very nice.” Ivy said quietly behind the robot's back as it switched personality cores and began asking a question of Mouse. She brought one hand to her nose and pinching the brow. “Just for that I am keeping this.”

Sonia bit the inside of her cheek again, desisting from any more immediate threats. The CES mentioned food being prepared in the next module, which had the inevitable ring of a last meal about it. After all, they wouldn't be sending condemned cryo-lifers on this jaunt if it wasn't both dangerous and desperate. They would just have to see.

Sonia followed Ivy with her eyes as they filed through to the buffet. Sonia picked up the closest thing to unprocessed food that she could find, which turned out to be a trio of pre-packaged rolls, and quietly chose the table that afforded the shortest distance between her back and the contoured plastic wall of the module. Avoiding the hulking robot and the frog-man it was harassing, she took a seat a couple of chairs down from the shaggy-haired man with the red bionic eye.

[Enigma]

Once the prisoners seemed to have settled into the routine of breakfast, The Corporate Expert System moved towards the screen.

"Please patch the camera feed to Prisoner 49-8750," it ordered. "Display the site."

"Despite it's small size, Gamma is actually denser than Earth's Moon and still geologically active. The surface gravity has been measured at 0.67 G - your jumps will be longer and higher, but you won't fly off Gamma in a single bound. It is mostly covered in water - and that water contains algae and other simple water lifeforms. What isn't covered in water is one small island on the equator, and on this island is this structure."

Spoiler: site 

"It's a truncated pyramid structure, with four extruded faces and each contains a single doorway. The structure is surrounded by a dry moat several stories deep with steep slanted sides, but there are four bridges connecting the doorways with the surrounding apron."

"And on that apron are four rings of towering blocks, each three stories tall, crowned with spikes that go another three stories up."

Spoiler: Overhead Drawing 

"The entire structure appears to have been carved out of volcanic rock, basalt. The structure is warmer than the surrounding rock, more than we can account for. Possibly this is some sort of giant heat sink, intended to radiate away heat. You may find it unpleasant."

"The survey team who explored the structure reported that a skeleton of some sort was found inside the moat, lying up against one of the bridge supports. Visual examination suggests it was some sort of reptile that walked erect, but had broken both legs."

"A few artifacts were also recovered, described as coin-like, of a yellowish-metal alloy. The survey team took these into the pyramid."

Spoiler: Internal Layout 

"The survey team reported that the structure is hollow and dusty, with carvings on the walls and a soft light glowing from the floor. They were studying the carvings when communication abruptly stopped. When the fiber optic cable was pulled out of the structure, it was found to be cleanly cut."

"The crew of the survey ship sent in a remote camera, also running via a fiber optic cable. It found the structure empty. While crossing the floor, it as well suddenly went dark."

"We believe that there is some sort of matter transporter built into the floor. We believe this is what took the explorer robots, the survey team, and the camera. What we do not know is where it took them, or why they were unable to return."

"Any questions?"

[Emet]

"I want to know what our survival rate is," Nosau remarked. "Seeing as nothing's come back, it's looking a lot like 'zero'." His one eye stared at the robot.

[Azazeal849]

"Any questions?"

"Yeah, two." Sonia offered from her corner, where she had hooked one arm over the back of her chair and was frowning at the screen. "What makes you so sure it's a matter transporter, and what are you giving us that you didn' give the last team so as you're not banging your head on a brick wall three times in a row?"

[Enigma]

"I want to know what our survival rate is," Nosau remarked. "Seeing as nothing's come back, it's looking a lot like 'zero'." His one eye stared at the robot.

"At this time, the team's survival rate is impossible to calculate," The Corporate Expert System replied in Spock's stark tones. "That is the reason why this mission was provided to prisoners with Death or Extended Life sentences. Your odds of survival, however, are greater on this mission than staying here."

"Yeah, two." Sonia offered from her corner, where she had hooked one arm over the back of her chair and was frowning at the screen. "What makes you so sure it's a matter transporter, and what are you giving us that you didn' give the last team so as you're not banging your head on a brick wall three times in a row?"

"Well, Lassie," The Expert system said with a strong Scottish accent, "It weren't no blade what cut those cables."
"Correct, Mr. Scott," Spock answered. "Examination of the cut end of the cord found no tool marks or signs the cable parted under stress. Further examination revealed the cut end to have a perfectly smooth surface. Additionally, while there is dust inside the room, the center is absolutely clean. An ancestor of mine maintained that if you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the solution."

"As to what you are being provided to help even the odds, a supply pod was launched to the surface approximately thirty minutes ago. It contains weapons, which the Survey Team did not have, a VLF communications device that should help us to communicate if the matter transporter takes us to a location deep underground, and a long range beacon should it take us to another world."

[Emet]

Nosau nodded. "That'll have to do, then. I can't say I'm thrilled with 'impossible to calculate', but it beats rotting away or execution. Besides," he leaned back and spread his arms wide. "Could I ask for a finer group of people to die with?"

[Crainium]

Croak inspected the pictures as he slowly ground one of the large, dragonfly-like insects from his lunch box between his jaws. A lot of work went into this structure. The precision crafting, the symmetry…it had to have been important to the beings that made it. And importance generally meant government or religion, neither one known for being overly friendly to those not already a part of the group.

Croak raised his hand, swallowing the bug paste in his mouth. *guuurp* “I understand we are looking for the people and equipment lost previously, but what if we find…other people? Or beings? Or toy soldiers? Are we charged with a diplomatic mission, or do we shoot first and ask questions later?” The toad wiped his hands on the front of his jumpsuit. *yoom* “I want to make it clear that I have no intention of murdering innocent people.”

[Ma1chbox]

Caine stood off to one side of the group, posture straight and arms crossed like a first mate overseeing deck operations. The fact that it was him being briefed and not the other way around did nothing to deter his commanding stance.

With a relatively neutral expression, he watched on as the android droned on about the pyramid structure and the details. It was nothing like any of the ruins he and his crew had pillaged during their glory days. This one was... strange, to say the least. Deep inside, the thought of the structure gave him a mild case of the willies, but he didn't show any hints of it to the others.

After the briefing was done, Caine listened as the others proceeded to ask questions, some of which he was planning to ask anyway. Once they were done asking, he raised his prosthetic hand and chimed in, his deep, gruff voice accentuated by a southern drawl. "Any chance we get t' keep any o' the loot we scrounge up? I'm gonna need a lot o' money once I go free." A brash statement like his would have sounded like a joke, but Caine meant every last word of it. He was set on earning that pardon, even if it meant he had to drag along the rest of the inmates through the mission.

If there was one thing you could be sure of about Caine, it was the fact that he had no plans of dying just yet. He still had a score to settle with his former crew and captain, the bastards who left him for dead on that damned corporate raid. When he goes free, Caine plans to show them that nobody betrays Allister Caine and gets away with it.